Drunken driving sweep nets five drivers in Hancock County

ELLSWORTH, Maine — Five people in the Ellsworth area are facing charges after the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department recently stepped up efforts to catch intoxicated drivers.

All five were stopped and arrested in separate incidents on Saturday, March 23. Three of them were arrested after tests revealed they were driving with twice or nearly twice the legal blood-alcohol limit, according to police. The legal blood-alcohol limit for operating a motor vehicle in Maine is 0.08 percent.

One man, Andrew Pratt, 22, of Deer Isle, was stopped for allegedly speeding on Route 1 in Ellsworth and was arrested on a charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants after police determined his blood-alcohol level was 0.15 percent, according to Deputy Chris Thornton. Another man, Dylan Pinkham, 22, of Milbridge, was arrested after being stopped on Route 1 in Hancock with a blood-alcohol level of 0.16 percent, Thornton said.

A third man, Joshua Dunbar, 22, of Orland, was stopped on Dunbars Road in Orland after leading police on a brief chase on Route 1, Thornton wrote in an incident summary. Subsequent tests indicated that Dunbar had a blood-alcohol level of 0.16 percent, according to the deputy. Dunbar was arrested on a charge of OUI and also has been charged with failure to stop for a law enforcement officer, Thornton indicated.

A fourth man, Shannon C. Nicholson, 42, of Tremont, also was arrested Saturday on a charge of OUI after police pulled over his vehicle on Route 3 in Trenton, according to police. However, information on whether police tested Nicholson’s blood-alcohol was unavailable Thursday.

Another driver pulled over Saturday on Route 179 in Fletcher’s Landing during an OUI enforcement patrol was not charged with OUI, according to Lt. Tim Cote. But Casey Henderson, 40, was arrested on charges of violating conditions of release and unlawful possession of scheduled drugs after police conducted a bail search of his car, Cote wrote.